It turns out, they were the main characters.

It's time to show off your skills!

Chapter 234 is about that classic conflict that gets slapped in the face (4.5K views).

Below the stage, countless eyes were fixed on the young man walking towards the platform. In a corner, a tall, beautiful woman in a black cheongsam crossed her arms and gazed at the young man with alluring and captivating eyes.

Even though she kept a low profile this time, from the very beginning, many people were involuntarily drawn to her.

Lan Feiying!

Even people who don't know her will have a deep impression of this woman.

After all, even within the Liangyi Sect, Lan Feiying's appearance was among the best.

Besides... she's just too big.

Lan Feiying pursed her luscious lips slightly, her hands supporting her firm and full breasts. Because she was wearing a cheongsam, her tight and graceful figure was on full display.

The reason Yan Ruyu would conduct the skill tests for these people was, in a sense, because Yu Xuanji had previously brought up the matter with Yan Ruyu.

While the chief disciples couldn't directly intervene in the Ascension Ceremony, they could at least test the cultivation techniques of the younger generation in the Eastern Continent, helping them avoid detours in their future cultivation.

As Yan Ruyu watched Mu Zhian gracefully walk onto the platform, her gaze softened.

Yan Ruyu undoubtedly adored this inner disciple of the library; otherwise, she wouldn't have given him so many pills, and even second-grade cultivation techniques and formations.

She was equally curious about what type of cultivation technique was best suited for Mu Zhi'an.

"Relax, just close your eyes," Yan Ruyu said gently.

As she spoke, she made a hand gesture, and the thin, cicada-wing-like pages of the book silently appeared before Mu Zhi'an.

At this moment, everyone fell silent for a brief moment, and countless eyes were fixed on the figure in front of the platform.

Upon hearing this, Mu Zhian closed his eyes as Yan Ruyu had instructed.

He was still very curious about which cultivation method he was compatible with.

As Mu Zhian quietly closed his eyes, he soon felt as if a wisp of spiritual energy was swirling around him.

That was the spiritual energy generated by Yan Ruyu activating the pages of the book.

He relaxed his body, and slowly, he felt the seemingly ordinary page in front of him begin to glow.

Mu Zhian then opened his eyes and looked at the page in front of him and the words displayed on it.

At almost the same time, Bai Ruoxi and the others in the audience also turned their gazes to the words on it.

"A first-class cauldron."

When they saw the words on the page, everyone hesitated slightly, and a look of doubt appeared in their eyes.

There are countless types of cultivation methods in the world, but they have never seen a cauldron used as a cultivation method.

Mu Zhian hesitated slightly, then looked at the words on the page and the gradually emerging cauldron shape a few more times, his eyelids twitching slightly.

This cauldron... is a naturally formed cauldron!

Yan Ruyu naturally sensed something as well. She immediately raised her hand and made a hand seal to erase the text on the page and the cauldron pattern that was about to fully appear. Then she gave Mu Zhian a meaningful look and said, "The test is over. You may leave now."

Yan Ruyu has now broken through the first bottleneck and therefore does not need the help of the innate furnace, but... that may not be the case in the future.

The secret of the naturally formed furnace must never be revealed.

After all, there aren't enough to go around right now. Not only is there his senior sister from Dao Peak, but also the first leader of Canghai Peak, the leader of Tianji Peak, and several others who are eyeing him covetously.

Moreover, the Azure Emperor within this disciple's body is likely one of them...

The fact that the Azure Emperor was able to condense the cauldron so quickly, resonate with the Great Dao, and ultimately achieve the supreme Dao fruit has impressed many outsiders with his unparalleled demeanor.

However, they were unaware that beneath this glamorous facade lay the hard work of Mu Zhian, who diligently reclaimed the land day and night.

Moreover, this contribution is probably quite significant.

After all, it was a natural furnace blessed by the power of heaven, and the spiritual energy it could give to others was several times stronger than Mu Zhian's original natural furnace.

If more people knew about this...

Among the people present were quite a few female cultivators. Her disciple was very good-looking, but her level of Refining Spirit Rank 3 was often looked down upon by those ancient families with deep foundations.

But if they knew that Mu Zhi'an was a born furnace, and even had the blessing of the Heavenly Dao Qi... who knows, in the future, elders from ancient families might come to curry favor with them every now and then.

However, Yan Ruyu knew one principle well: good things should not go to outsiders.

She hasn't even done it herself... how could she let others know about this?

As Mu Zhian stepped down from the platform, Yan Ruyu quickly surveyed the crowd below, her red lips slightly pursed, and a smile on her face: "Next."

……

On the other side, after Mu Zhian stepped down from the platform, Bai Ruoxi immediately came to greet him, while Wei Mengrou looked at him with a strange expression.

The maidservant naturally understood exactly what the "first-class cauldron" meant.

"Mu Lang, don't be too disappointed. Even if there isn't a suitable offensive technique, I will still protect you in the future." Bai Ruoxi's clear and gentle voice came to Mu Zhi'an's ear through telepathy.

Clearly, in Miss Bai's view, Mu Zhi'an must have been somewhat shocked when he learned that the 'natural furnace' was actually the one that matched his cultivation technique.

However, Miss Bai underestimated Mu Zhian's ability to withstand pressure.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that he had already made the necessary preparations.

Feeling the tender yet worried look in Bai Ruoxi's eyes when she raised them, Mu Zhian held her slender hand in one hand, shook his head and said softly, "There's no need to comfort me. I'm also very gratified to see you gradually become stronger."

Then he continued, "Let's leave here first."

From the very beginning, he felt many eyes looking in his direction, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Although he didn't care about other people's gazes, he was a person who adhered to the principle of 'keeping a low profile', and it was best to avoid trouble if possible.

Before leaving the main hall of the library, Mu Zhi'an glanced at the beautiful woman in white palace attire beside him, then quickly looked at the woman in a cheongsam not far away and transmitted his voice:

"Sister Feiying, how about you come to my Tianhe Garden for tea and a chat sometime? It seems like it's been a long time since we last met."

Lan Feiying's lips curled slightly, and she transmitted her voice in a teasing tone: "Little guy, it's not a good man's job to be greedy and have his cake and eat it too, is it?"

Mu Zhian smiled helplessly and replied telepathically, "I just wanted to chat with Sister Fei Ying. What are you thinking?"

Although such words may sound a bit fake, they can still make people lower their guard.

Of course, this is also based on the premise that the man and woman have feelings for each other.

Lan Feiying smiled and waved to Mu Zhian, only a gentle and pleasant languid voice came to his ear: "Let's talk about it another time."

This means it's an indirect agreement; we'll see how well I act afterward... Mu Zhi'an understood, and then walked out of the library.

Just before leaving, he took one last look at Lan Feiying behind him.

There's something that's been bothering him for the past few days.

That day, a "system binding" notification suddenly popped into his mind, and after that, the system displayed that binding had failed, and the sound disappeared.

After that, did the system simply disappear, or did it... transfer to someone else's body?

If we assume that the body has been transferred to someone else, is it bound to the 'protagonist' of this world, or to someone else?

He had secretly tested Bai Ruoxi, Wei Mengrou, and even the Ye sisters a couple of days ago, but he couldn't find any clues from them.

If this isn't an act, then the system shouldn't be bound to these four people, nor should it be bound to the fairy sister.

If we assume that the 'protagonist' is someone we know, then the only remaining possibilities are the Lan sisters and Miss Linglong.

It's necessary to find a time to test the waters and see...

The world is a strange place. Now, reborn people, reincarnated people, and even the protagonist of a 'system' have appeared. Even if he suddenly learns that there is a transmigrator, Mu Zhian will not be too surprised.

Thinking about this, Mu Zhian unknowingly walked out of the library.

As the winter sun shone down, Mu Zhian held Bai Ruoxi's small hand and left the library with the maid. Just then, they saw a group of disciples gathered in front of them.

Among the disciples was a young man dressed in a black robe.

Ye Yu.

Not far ahead of Ye Yu was a genius disciple from the Southern Wilderness whom Mu Zhian had met once before, but he did not know the other party's name.

Behind the crowd, the Southern Wilderness Saintess, whose fair skin was slightly unhealthy and whose frail demeanor evoked pity, was also present.

What a coincidence! It looks like it's going to be another classic scene of the protagonist getting slapped in the face... Mu Zhian wasn't in a hurry to leave. He took Bai Ruoxi's slender hand and walked to the back of the crowd to watch the excitement.

“Nigati, I discovered the formula for the Nine Cauldrons Pill first and intended to trade it. Isn’t your approach a bit excessive?” Ye Yu gazed at the genius youth from the Southern Wilderness before him and spoke slowly.

"Whoever makes the first move gets the deal, isn't that how it should be?" Nigati chuckled and, under Ye Yu's gaze, put the Nine Cauldrons Pill formula into his storage ring.

Mu Zhian's eyes flickered slightly. Listening to the confrontation between the two and the idle chatter of the disciples not far ahead, he quickly understood what was going on.

The Liangyi Sect has always been a very free sect. Now that the Ascension Conference is about to begin, cultivators from all over the Nine Provinces have come to the Liangyi Sect in advance.

These cultivators also carry special medicinal herbs, or even special prescriptions, that are only available in their respective states.

Before the Ascension Ceremony even began, many cultivators were already trading or bartering with each other.

Ye Yu first discovered the recipe for the Nine Cauldrons Pill from a certain cultivator. He originally planned to buy it for 200,000 spirit stones after bargaining, but this genius youth from the Southern Wilderness made the first move and bought it at a high price.

Given Ye Yu's personality, he naturally couldn't tolerate it, which led to this scene.

"I think I'm getting a whiff of the classic scenario of conflict followed by a humiliating defeat..." Mu Zhian muttered to himself.

However, Ye Yu is only at the second level of the Refinement God realm. How can he possibly fight against Niga?

He could roughly judge that this Nigati was at least at the sixth level of the Refinement of Spirit realm.

A second-grade Refining Spirit cultivator against a sixth-grade Refining Spirit cultivator is impossible for Ye Yu to defeat unless he directly summons the old man inside his body to possess him.

“I know Young Master Ye is very dissatisfied, but this is the Liangyi Sect. If a conflict breaks out between you and me here, it will cause considerable trouble for the Liangyi Sect.”

Nigati paused, a cold smile curving his lips, and said, "If you're truly unconvinced, how about we make friends through alchemy?"

"If you win, I will give you the Nine Cauldrons Pill recipe as a gift. In addition, I will compensate you with 500,000 spirit stones."

He paused, then continued, "If I lose, Young Master Ye, all you need to do is give me a prescription of the same quality as the Nine Cauldrons Pill, how about that?"

Ye Yu sneered, "I couldn't be happier."

For a moment, many people in the room were in an uproar, and then their eyes showed more interest and curiosity.

A contest between alchemists!

This is not uncommon in the cultivation world, but you have to know that Nigati seems to be a sixth-grade alchemist, plus his sixth-grade Spirit Refining level. How can Ye Yu, a second-grade Spirit Refining, possibly defeat Nigati?